A Great Weekend

Thursday night we headed down to my parents.  I like to take advantage of my summer vacation and the sooner I can get down there the better.  So JM and I hooked the camper up in the rain and headed down south when he got home.  Samantha fell asleep before we came into Kansas which is only 9 miles down the road and she did it without fussing.  A lot of times she has to whimper or cry a little bit before she passes out but she must have been tired!  She slept almost the whole way home.  I think she woke up around Ste. Marie, maybe.  Anyways.... JM parked the camper and started to set it up and I took Samantha up to the house in her seat.  Everyone was sitting out on the patio so I left her on the table smiling at her grandma while I went back down to get some of her toys.  I came out of the camper and heard her wailing and screaming.  FANTASTIC.  Well she had started to fuss, so Dad took her out of the seat and talk about total melt down.  She did not want anything to do with him, which is funny because she did that one other time too when we came down in the evening.  I got her quieted down and we all sat around and visited for awhile.  I kept thinking she would get sleepy but she didn't - not until around 10.  However, when she did become sleepy she had another mini-meltdown.  She wouldn't even be satisfied when she nursed.  I decided to take her down to the camper where it was quiet and there were no distractions.  She still wouldn't nurse and fall asleep.  She just leaned against me and would kind of scream and then simmer it down to a whimper and could hardly keep her eyes open.  She did that about 5 times and then was out.  Then, guess what, she slept ALL NIGHT!!   Friday morning, I was seriously thinking about living in the camper.  I mean, if that's what it takes, right??   Well hold your horses because that was the only night she did it.  What a tease....
Friday we girls made a Wal-Mart run.  I had to purchase some supplies for the items I was making for a Bachelorette party I was going to Saturday evening.   Mom also couldn't help herself and picked up applesauce, sweet potatoes, and bananas in baby food jars. That night she tried some sweet potatoes and LOVED them.  She is definitely interested in food at this point.  After I started feeding her cereal last week, she watches my plate pretty intently.  After she ate some baby food though, she watches the fork go from the plate to my mouth.  Smart little girl!
Friday evening, Nano and Papo came over to visit with Samantha.  She was in the bath so Nano was able to see what a splasher she was.  Then Samantha was pretty fussy and only let them hold her for a few minutes so we decided to take her over in the morning.  Samantha fell asleep pretty easily that night.
Saturday was spent icing cupcakes, playing with Samantha, and getting ready to go the party.  JM and I made a quick trip to Nano and Papo's right before lunch.  She enjoyed all the extra attention...as if she doesn't get any attention any other time.
Mid-Afternoon I headed up to Greenup. I had left Mom with plenty of my milk and 3 different bottles to try. I put on my swimsuit and wanted to cry.... or puke.  I 'm not really sure.  After trying on everyone elses swimsuit in the house, I went back to mine.  I bought it about a month ago by trying on one size and it was a little too small so I went another size up and just bought it.  Didn't try it on.  Well, ok, it wasn't bad... just not the body I am used to seeing in a swimsuit. That picture right there is enough to make me want to join a gym. I just need to keep thinking about it. =)  The party was a blast! It was great being around a bunch of gals and just having fun, chit chatting, swimming, drinking, and snacking.  I didn't drink, even though it was REALLY tempting.  I, if you can't tell, take breastfeeding pretty seriously and didn't even want to contemplate having to pump milk and then dump it down the drain.  Plus, I had no clue if Samantha was going to take the bottle willingly or not for Mom.  I called and checked in a few times.  She did GREAT!  She only screamed once, took the bottle pretty willingly but only a certain way.  Mom figured out that if you hold her and give her the bottle it makes her SO MAD!!!  I guess that position is "our" position.  Mom put her in her Bumbo seat (the greatest invention ever) and fed her the bottle and she sucked it down! I came home around 7:30 and there was my little girl - no blood vessels about to rupture and she was in a great mood! Complete opposite of the last time!
Sunday morning, we woke up late and went to the later Church service.  Like last time, Samantha got restless and I spent the 2nd half jiggling her in the back of the church and just pacing a little.  A few times I took her out into the foyer or back hall but other than that she did pretty good.  I listened to most of the service so I was happy. 
After church we headed down to Southern Illinois.  Dad wanted to get a piece of chocolate pie from Double M's.  It is campground with a restaurant close to where he and some other guys went turkey hunting.  Yes we drove over and hour for a piece of pie.  Come to find out, they were out of chocolate pie so we all ate a piece of "ok" coconut pie.  We drove down to Cave-In Rock and walked around a little bit and then on the way home we stopped by my Great Grandpa Kautz's grave.  When we climbed out of the truck, there was this HUGE hawk sitting next to a big shade tree.  It was a very dark color.  JM kept getting closer and closer because it appeared to be hurt.  He was looking at it from about 2-3 feet away and said that it looked like his back was "oozing" and his feathers looked weird.  At this point, I have Samantha and we are on the other side of the tree and in the cemetary.  Of course, I'm saying things like "don't get to close" "don't make it mad" "I don't want you to get hurt"... you know... things like that.  Well I looked back at it from the other side of the tree but from a safe distance, or at least what I thought was safe.  I noticed that it was dripping from the front and his feathers were all wet and clumped.  Then JM must have gotten a little closer and realized he was covered in OIL.  Yes, oil.  Poor guy.  He couldn't fly.  Well on the other side of the cemetary is two oil tanks.  All oil tanks like that have a little dike around them, and this one happened to be filled with oil.  How the hawk came about getting into that oil, who knows, but he was SOAKED.  We were all pretty amazed with how far he had walked from the oil.  We were all contemplating how we were going to get help for the big guy, when two ladies pulled up.  An older woman with her daughter was putting fresh roses on her husbands grave.  They assured us they would make the appropriate phone calls.  Hopefully the DNR was able to help them.
We finally arrived home around 8 where we finally met up with Marisa.  She had been up to Moline all weekend to see the Brad Paisley's Water Tour.

Goofing with Grandma at the gas station.

Family picture infront of the Ohio River

Samantha with Grandma & Grandpa at Cave-In Rock

Samantha was quickly shuffled to her Daddy for the climb back up the stairs.

And of course they beat all of us!

JM and I decided to stay down there that evening instead of loading up and going back late.  So on Monday morning, Marisa and Mom took Samantha and me to Samantha's 4 month check up.